Storm protector for exposed glass and the like

ABSTRACT

A storm protector for exposed glass and the like such as glass windows and doors, wherein the protector is releasably mounted on the glass or other sheet material to deflect wind forces and to distribute wind loads to reduce breakage of the glass or other material even when the wind forces are of hurricane intensity.

United States Patent 1191 [111 3,760,501 Fulcher Sept. 25, 1973 [54] STORM PROTECTOR FOR EXPOSED GLASS 2,482,297v 9/1949 Silverman .1 3/36 AND T LIKE 2,602,970 7/1952 Gouge 1. 52/203 X 3,421,259 1/1969 Egan, Jr 52/203 X [76] Inventor: Junius H. Fulcher, 3501 Allen Pky.,

Houston, 77019 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Filed Feb 2 1972 864,727 4/1961 Great Britain 52/203 [21] Appl. No.: 222,843 Primary ExaminerAlfred C. Perham Attorney-Pravel, Wilson & Matthews [52] US. Cl. 52/203, 52/84 51 1m. (:1 E06b 3/28, E06b 3/30 [57] ABSTRACT 58 Field of Search 52/202, 203, 84, A Storm protector for exposed glass and the like such 52 173; 49 2; 3 3 123 431 as glass windows and doors, wherein the protector is releasably mounted on the glass or other sheet material [56] References Ci d to deflect wind forces and to distribute wind loads to UNITED STATES PATENTS reduce breakage of the glass or other material even 1,688,344 10/1928 Muntwyler 52/203 x when the Wmd forces are of humcane mtenslty' 1,155,705 10/1915 Cowell 52/202 X 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures STORM PROTECTOR FOR EXPOSED GLASS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention is devices for protecting glass and the like exposed to winds of storm intensity.

It is customary in areas which have re-occurring seasonal hurricanes and other storms in which the velocity of the wind reaches one hundred miles per hour and more to take precautionary steps to protect exposed glass such as glass windows and doors on houses and other buildings. Such precautions have generally included the boarding up of store fronts or as a minimum protection, the application of masking tape in an X or other pattern. The tape is primarily to try to prevent the glass from flying in fragments, but it is of little value in actually preventing the fracturing of the glass by winds or hurricane intensity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a storm protector for exposed glass and the like, wherein the wind forces from a storm are deflected and are also re-distributed over the glass or other material to reduce the breaking force acting on the glass or other material. The protector of this invention preferably is releasably mounted on the glass and is constructed so that a plurality of the protectors may be stacked together when in storage. The protectors eliminate the need for the boarding up of windows in most types of storms, and yet they are simple to apply, remove and keep in storage until needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the glass protector of this invention shown in the mounted position on a pane of glass; and 7 FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the protector of FIG. 1, also shown mounted on a pane of glass.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawing, the letter P designates the protector of this invention which is adapted to be releasably mounted upon a surface 10 of a pane of glass G. Briefly, the protector P includes a central body which is formed so as to create an inner pocket 21 (FIG. 2) when the protector P is mounted with a rim or border 30 adhered to the surface 10 of the pane of glass G. The central body 20 is illustrated as being substantially a cone or conical, but as will beexplained, such shape may be modified while still obtaining the advantages and the benefits of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the protector P includes a valve 40 which is mounted so as to establish communication through the central body 20 with the inner pocket 21 so that air may be withdrawn from such pocket 21 to effect or increase the adherence of the border or lip 30 with the surface 10. Also, pressure may be introduced through the valve 40 to the pocket 21 to effect a rapid release of the protector P from the pane of glass G.

Considering the invention more in detail, the protector P may be made of various materials such as heavy paper, plastics, metals and any other material which is slightly resilient and yieldable under wind or air pressures, but which retains its general configuration even though there is a pressure differential acting thereacross. Preferably the border or annular lip 30 is integral with the central body 20 and is of the same material as the central body 20, although this is not essential.

For adhering the border or lip 30 to the glass surface 10, some type of bonding medium such as a pressure sensitive adhesive 31 is disposed on the inner surface 30a of the annular lip 30 so as to preferably effect a seal between the lip 30 and the glass surface 10 by simply pressing the lip 30 to the glass surface 10. Such adhesives are well known and form no specific part of the present invention. Although the pressure sensitive type of adhesive is preferred for the bonding layer or medium 31, it will be appreciated that other types of adhesives or bonding agents may be employed, but preferably, such adhesives should be releasable from the glass surface 10 when it is desired to remove the protector P from the glass G.

The central body 20 is illustrated as being conical and the border or lip 30 is illustrated as being circular, but it will be appreciated that the central body 20 may be dome shaped with a relatively blunt curved generally convex surface or it may be formed of multi-sided walls which are flat or are substantially flat and which are shaped so as'to meet at an apex or substantially pointed tip corresponding to the apex 20a of the central body 20 illustrated in the drawings. For example, the central body 20 could have a pyramid like shape, in which case the border or lip 30 would be formed of straight sections of a rectangle or square or other geometric configuration. The walls, whether conical, dome shaped, flat, or otherwise, may also have ribs or deformation such as 20b therein to strengthen them. As will be more evident hereinafter, the principal feature of the present invention is to provide a protector P which is formed with the inner pocket 21 and whichis thus formed with a raised portion at the central body 20 so that wind forces which are directed towards the glass G are deflected from the direction indicated generally at 41 to a direction 42 which is substantially parallel to the external surface of the central body 20 and then is ultimately diverted to the direction 43 (FIG. 2) which is essentially parallel to the glass surface 10. Thus, wind forces which are directed generally perpendicular to the vertical glass surface 10 are diverted by the protector P so that they flow generally parallel to the surface 10 of the glass G.

In addition to the diverting effect of the protector P with respect to the glass G, there is a distribution of wind forces with respect to the glass G for several reasons. First, the area of the glass G which is covered by the protector P is subjected to reduce forces due to the increase of the velocity of the airmovement along the protector P which reduces the pressure acting on the protector P and the glass covered thereby. Also, the points of contact of the border or lip 30 with the glass G tend to divide the glass into a beam structurally, with the central beam covered by the protector P being subjected to a lesser force than the glass which is exposed outwardly therefrom. Since the glass is carried in an external frame; the loading of the glass which is not covered by the protector P is thus greater in the areas closest to the supportingframe for the window or door in which the pane of glass G is mounted. This provides greater support for the pane of glass at the areas of greater pressure.

The protector P is preferably of a relatively small size as compared to the exposed surface of a pane of glass G. For example, and not by way of limitation the area actually covered by the protector P may be only 10 percent of the exposed area of the pane of glass G, but such cover is usually sufficient to protect the glass against breakage. The size of the protector P may of course vary in relationship to the area of glass. As previously pointed out, some of such wind force which is directed substantially perpendicular to the glass G, even at the exposed glass areas, is diverted because of the substantially parallel flow imparted around the entire protector P as indicated by the arrow 43. It should also be understood that although the arrows 41, 42 and 43 are only shown on one part of the protector P in FIG. 2, such flow occurs throughout the entire protector and is thus distributed in that manner throughout the entire exposed area of the glass pane G.

It is often desirable to have the valve 40 mounted with the central body 20. The valve 40 is preferably a two-way valve so that the valve tube 40a may be connected with a pump to reduce the pressure within the pocket 21 to thus create a partial vacuum for increasing or effecting the retention of the protector P on the glass surface 10. With such arrangement, the adhesive 31 may even be eliminated in some instances. The valve 40 is of course closed after the partial vacuum has been created in the pocket 21 with the lip in sealing contact with the glass surface 10. Thereafter, when it is desired to remove the protector P from the glass G, the valve may be opened to atmospheric pressure to equalize the pressure in the pocket 21 with the pressure externally thereof, or if desired, a positive pressure above atmospheric pressure may be introduced into the pocket 21 for pumping or rapidly releasing the rim 30 from the surface 10.

The protector P is made so that it may readily stack in groups one on top of the other, particularly when the valve 40 is not utilized. If the valve 40 is utilized, it may be made removable to facilitate stacking of the protector P or it may be of a small enough'size so as not to appreciably interfere with such stacking. The size of the valve 40 and the tube 40a therewith are shown enlarged in the drawings for illustration purposes, but it will be appreciated that relatively small valves and fittings can be utilized for the purpose of this invention.

In the use of the protector P of this invention, normally such protectors P are retained in storage in a stacked relationship with each other where they occupy relatively little space until they are needed. When a storm warning occurs and it is anticipated that the wind velocities will be of hurricane intensity or suffcient to justify protecting glass panes in windows, doors or other locations, the protectors P are then mounted on the glass panes to be protected. The panes to be protected may be in commercial buildings, homes or even high-rise office buildings. The protectors P may be readily applied by unskilled labor by simply pressing each protector P into position in substantially the central portion of the pane of glass to be protected. In some instances, a plurality of the protectors P may be placed on a single pane of glass, but normally only a single protector P for each pane of glass G is required to obtain the benefits of the present invention.

If the partial vacuum is to be created using the valve 40, this may be readily applied using a partial vacuum pump of any conventional design and which may even be hand operated for simplicity.

After the storm has past, the protectors P may be readily removed by lifting the rim or lip 30 from the glass surface 10 if the protectors P have simply been applied by pressure to the glass surface 10. If a partial vacuum has been created in the inner pocket 21, then the valves 40 of the protectors P are opened to permit the atmospheric pressure to enter the pockets 21, or a positive pressure above atmospheric pressure is introduced with a suitable pump to pump the protectors from the glass surface 10. The protectors P may then be readily stacked for storage until needed again.

Although the protector P has been described herein primarily for use on glass, the use is not limited to glass, since the advantages and features of this invention may be accomplished to a greater or lesser degree when the protector P is applied to other materials such as sheet plastic, thin sheets of wood, building board or other building material, or any sheet which is subject to fracturing, cracking or permanent damage by winds. Also, the inner pocket 21 may be empty as illustrated or it may have webbing, ribs, a solid elastic material like rubber, or a porous material like polyurethene filling said pocket 21. Further, although it is usually desirable to have adhesive 31 on the lip 30, the lip 30 may be adhered to the glass or the like by take in strips or otherwise applied over the lip and in contact with the glass around the edge of the lip 30.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A combination storm protector and building window glass wherein the glass when exposed to storm winds is protected from damage as a result of such storm winds, comprising:

a pane of building window glass;

a central body having an inner pocket disposed towards said pane of glass;

a substantially flat border on said central body having an inner surface substantially parallel to and in contact with and releasably adhered to substantially the central portion of the pane of window glass; and

said inner surface has an adhesive thereon for releasably adhering to the glass.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said central body has a substantially conical wall, with said inner pocket formed by said wall thereof; and

said border is an annular lip which is substantially parallel to the pane of glass to which it is applied.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

valve means with said central body for withdrawing air and thus creating a partial vacuum in said pocket when said border is adhered to said pane of glass, and for subsequently introducing pressure into said pocket to release said border from the glass.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

said central body has a multi-sided wall which defines said inner pocket and which terminates in an apex which is substantially pointed and is spaced the protector is mounted thereon. 6. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: material in said pocket at least partially filling same. 7. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: material filling said pocket and contacting said glass,

whereby said central body is solid. 

1. A combination storm protector and building window glass wherein the glass when exposed to storm winds is protected from damage as a result of such storm winds, comprising: a pane of building window glass; a central body having an inner pocket disposed towards said pane of glass; a substantially flat border on said central body having an inner surface substantially parallel to and in contact with and releasably adhered to substantially the central portion of the pane of window glass; and said inner surface has an adhesive thereon for releasably adhering to the glass.
 2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein: said central body has a substantially conical wall, with said inner pocket formed by said wall thereof; and said border is an annular lip which is substantially parallel to the pane of glass to which it is applied.
 3. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: valve means with said central body for withdrawing air and thus creating a partial vacuum in said pocket when said border is adhered to said pane of glass, and for subsequently introducing pressure into said pocket to release said border from the glass.
 4. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein: said central body has a multi-sided wall which defines said inner pocket and which terminates in an apex which is substantially pointed and is spaced the maximum distance from the pane of glass when the protector is mounted thereon.
 5. The structure set forth in claim 3, wherein: said central body has a multi-sided wall which defines said inner pocket and which terminates in an apex which is substantially pointed and is spaced the maximum distance from the pane of glass when the protector is mounted thereon.
 6. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: material in said pocket at least partially filling same.
 7. The structure set forth in claim 1, including: material filling said pocket and contacting said glass, whereby said central body is solid. 